Following the contest, Aliskerov lobbied for another opportunity to fight a top name, refusing to call out anyone specifically, but instead making a blanket pitch to face anyone in the Top 10. Those kinds of pitches rarely work, and he was paired off with Brunno Ferreira in July at UFC 318, only to suffer a broken toe in training camp and once again have another solid pairing scuttled. “The Hulk” stayed on the card and submitted Jackson McVey, while Aliskerov pressed pause, recovered, and now faces off with Park at Etihad Arena on Saturday.
Though presently unranked, the South Korean veteran is a stern test for anyone in the division, entering on a two-fight winning streak and having won six of his last seven, with the lone setback being a debated split decision loss to Muniz of all people. Since that narrow setback, the 34-year-old “Iron Turtle” has turned in wins over Brad Tavares and Ismail Naurdiev, navigating a gnarly eye poke and unfortunate clash of heads against the latter en route to securing the unanimous decision victory.
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“He’s no easy opponent, obviously,” Aliskerov said of his opponent this weekend, who holds a 9-3 mark inside the Octagon and a 19-6 record overall. “He always pushes forward, goes to the end.
“But I’ve seen his fights, I’ve watched his stuff up until now, and I believe that I’m better than him in all aspects. Whether it’s striking or on the ground, I believe I’ll have enough skills to make sure to go through him.”
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